Letter - Wildcats owner should go public on crowd segragation

Following some trouble at the match against Widnes the management of Wakefield Trinity Wildcats imposed segregation of fans for the recent home match against Leeds.

You quote Leeds chief executive, Gary Hetherington, as saying he was disappointed that fans of the two teams were being segregated and he hoped it would be an isolated occasion. Sadly the policy of enforced segregation was repeated again on Sunday for the match against Bradford.

Rugby League has long prided itself on being a family game where opposing fans can mingle together and exchange good humoured banter with one another. This distinction compared to soccer crowds is a source of pride to rugby league fans and the Wildcats management have as much responsibility for protecting this tradition as they do for safeguarding crowd safety.

They are to be applauded for the prompt and strong action taken against the handful of troublemakers at the Widnes game.

There were sufficient stewards at the Bradford game to have policed the north and west terraces without resorting to segregation.

Andrew Glover should come out publicly and state his commitment to maintaining the traditional mingling of fans from opposing sides.

If he lacks that commitment then perhaps he should be asked to organise the ticketing for the Magic Weekend where 14 sets of fans and many other rugby league followers will need to be kept apart.